|
Home » Legal » High School Civil Liberties Project » Student Freedom of Expression
Teacher ACLU Fact Sheet STUDENT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Landmark Case - West Virginia v. Barnette , 319 US 624 (1943) The Constitutional Question How does the basic First Amendment guarantee of free expression apply to students in public schools? Amendments Implicated 1st Amendment - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Backround The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1940 (Minersville School Dist. V. Gobitis, (1940)) that compelling students to salute the flag did not violate religious freedom. In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court was given another opportunity to address this issue. Under challenge was a regulation issued by the West Virginia State Board of Education that required all teachers and pupils to participate in the pledge of allegiance and authorized disciplinary action against students who refused to participate. Students expelled for refusal to participate were considered delinquents and subject to criminal prosecution. A group of Jehovah's Witnesses refused to salute the flag because it represented a graven image and it would violate their religion to pay homage to this image. The Decision By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court reversed its decision in Minersville and struck down the flag salute requirement. The majority found that the freedom asserted to refuse to participate in the flag salute did not interfere with or deny the rights of others to participate. Justice Jackson wrote: “To sustain the compulsory flag salute we are required to say that a Bill of Rights which guards the individual’s right to speak his own mind, left it open to public authorities to compel him to utter what is not in his mind.” With that, the court held that compelling students to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance violated a student’s right to free expression and their freedom of religion… The case is the cornerstone for all free-expression cases brought by students that followed. Related Cases Goetz V. Ansell - 1973 The second Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a school to allow a student to remain quietly seated during the flag salute. Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser – 1986 Matthew Fraser, a student at Bethel High School in Washington was suspended for his sexually suggestive nomination speech for a fellow student. The court found that the school acted within its powers to discipline Fraser because the speech he gave at a school-sponsored event. Pyle v. School Committee of South Hadley – 1996 The Massachusetts Supreme Court Judicial Court ruled that student expression through clothing is protected even if it is considered ‘vulgar’ by some, so long as that expression causes no material disruption of the educational program. Web Links |
|
